


The Kids Of Atkins

by bondove



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Issues, Fluff, Heartbreak, M/M, Sappy stuff, Teenagers, alcohol and drug use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 04:44:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15856461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bondove/pseuds/bondove
Summary: This is my original work that's been sitting in my drafts for a very long time. I have a lot unfinised and unedited material for this story, but I hope that I can finally sort it out and publish the whole thing here. I do not profit from this in any way and this is just a hobby for me. However, I do love critisisim and comments. You know what to do.***Atkins is a small city where nothing ever happens. What a cliché, right? The kids of Atkins are full of fire and ready to rebel.Amy is trying to get over her lost love with a new lover. Ira just wants to chill, but he keeps running from one trouble to another. Elizabeth is having an identity crisis. Peter is getting fed up with everything and Henry is battling with his faith. Nothing is alright and everyone's lives seem to be a big mess, but that's okay. They will figure it out.





	The Kids Of Atkins

The drawer rattled a little when Amy went through it to find some smokes. She got lucky. One cigarette, already a bit burnt one though, was there between her biology textbook and some old papers. She left the drawer open after fishing her lighter from it.

 

The lighter had been a gift from Dad. It was one of those bad ones that were sold at the cash desks for a quid at the gas stations. Plain white with weak flame. Dad had written “don’t fuckin smoke” on it with a black marker before tossing it to Amy one night a bit over a year ago. Amy wasn’t sure was she still using it out of spite, or what. Putting new gas in it was hard and messy, but Amy did it instead of buying a new one. _Because why the hell not._

 

Dad didn’t like it that Amy smoked. It was something he just wouldn’t shut up about. Amy got it, she really did, but it was annoying. Mum usually took her fags away if she saw them but didn’t make a scene when she smelled like them. Amy was really annoyed by that to be honest. She was legally an adult and bought them with her own money now. And mum was the only one there who didn’t smoke in their house.

 

“You smoke?” Amy asked, and offered the fag to Grace, who was sitting on the other edge of the bed. She wasn’t looking chill at all. Just tense. Amy didn’t like it.

 

Grace shook her head and smiled a little. “Nah, just weed for me. You got any?”

 

It was Amy’s turn to shake her head. She had smoked her last joints with Ezra a couple days ago. Quality stuff. Some friend of his grew it in his basement. Amy had been there once. It was a mad cool place.

 

Music was playing from the speaker loud enough for them to chat without anyone else in the house hearing them. In the past, Amy had checked for countless times just how loud the volume needed to be for her to talk without anyone being able to eavesdrop. Anyway, Amy was feeling really comfortable with chatting – Grace not so much.

 

They had been in there for three hours already. It was over eight o’clock and would get dark soon. Grace was much more skittish than she had been before Dad, Ira and Isaac had barged in and they were forced to come upstairs. Maybe it was because they were in her room for the first time after their fight. Amy hadn’t meant the things she had said about Grace. In theory they had made up, but there was still some tension. One couldn’t unsay the evil things after all.

 

Grace hadn’t said much. Amy had tried really hard to make conversation. Nothing major, just stuff about college and work and such. Asking questions hadn’t went too well, so Amy had just given up and started to prattle about everything. About her brothers. About the upcoming exams. A little bit about herself. Grace had been a good listener and asked some questions. It hadn’t led to a good old chat though.

 

Someone was in the shower. The water pipes going under the floor of Amy’s room made nasty sounds when the water got turned on. It was probably Isaac. As far as Amy knew he had left for a jog an hour ago, so he’d be back by now.

 

“Umh, who exactly lives in this house?” Grace asked. She was wearing a huge knitted sweater and tights. Amy couldn’t understand how Grace could rock an outfit like that.

 

Amy took a long drag and blew the smoke out as a long thin line before answering; “Me, my parents. Then there’s Ira, and Ezra who’s been somewhere for few days. Hanna and Maisie sleepover pretty often, but they don’t live _live_ here. Hanna is Isaac’s girlfriend and Maisie is her daughter. Oh, and Isaac of course. He just kinda comes and goes.”

 

Grace bit her lip. It looked like she was trying to connect the dots.

 

“So, Hanna’s the hot girl who brought you to college the other day?”

 

Amy almost dropped the cigarette, but then nodded. That was what their argument had been about the other day. Hanna had given her a lift to college and Grace kind of jumped into conclusions. And then Amy hadn’t corrected Grace, who thought that Amy was fooling around with many girls at the same time. It was such a dumb thing. Amy shouldn’t have done that. But now it was okay-ish. Could be better, but this was entirely Amy’s own fault.

 

“Yeah, that was Hanna. As if I’d do it with someone driving a Subaru. I’m more of a bicycle girl. I like the hippie ones.”

 

Grace nodded, approvingly. She picked lint from her tights, eyes on her lap. Was she smiling a little? Yes, she definitely was! That was good. The tension had gone away a bit. _Good good good_. Grace was so adorable with her bike.

 

They didn’t say anything for a while. The moment would have lasted for longer, if Grace’s phone hadn’t start to ring. Amy had to prey a little when Grace stood up to pick it from the pocket of her jacket and sat back down. The name PISSHEAD was happily jumping on the screen and Grace didn’t do anything to answer it. That wasn’t a huge surprise, considering the contact name.

 

The phone rang for a while before finally stopping after Amy had been ready to hit the red decline button for Grace. Amy wasn’t sure should she ask about it. Grace didn’t look so happy about the phone call, but she wasn’t upset or anything. Thankfully, Grace took it upon herself to speak up first.

 

“Can I stay here for the night? Could I?” Her voice wasn’t exactly weak, but one didn’t need to be genius to see understand that something was off. Amy just nodded. It would be okay. Her bed was big, and they could share, right?

 

Amy agreed without asking any follow-up questions, who looked relieved. Amy couldn’t help but wonder who the Pisshead was. Her dad? Brother? Why didn’t she want to go home? Was something bad happening at there? Grace didn’t look like she was going to chat about it any further. Not that Amy was surprised.

 

To be honest, Amy was fast growing fond to this cosy setting they had going on here. Even if it was a bit tense right now. Obviously, she couldn’t know was this going anywhere. It had been going somewhere before their fight. Now she wasn’t too sure.

 

Grace was leaning against the headboard and staring at one of the posters on the wall. Or just the wall, Amy couldn’t tell. Whatever she was looking at, she was judging. That was probably the most relaxed she’d seen her today. Grace took a pillow from next to her and throw it at Amy, before huffing and pointing one of the posters: “You listen to ABBA***?” Her voice wasn’t exactky mocking, but it was a slightly bit of too amused.

 

Okay. Take back. Grace was a pain in the ass. Amy felt her face going red and before she even realised, she was defending herself with the “BUT IT’S CLASSIC!” cliché. Grace bit her tongue to hold back the laughter, Amy saw it. If a girl was going down, it was better to go all-in at once.

 

“What? Haven’t you seen the amazing Mamma Mia! Musical and been obsessed ever since? I mean come on, it’s a masterpiece!” Amy heard how her voice was way more defensive than she had hoped for. Grace shook her head, grinning at Amy. That girl thought this was hilarious!

 

Amy stood up and heard faint apologies behind her back. Fuck that. She took her laptop from the table and tossed it to the bed. Grace looked at Amy, then the laptop, then her again. That just boosted Amy to sat back down in the most theatrical way she possibly could pull off. Theatre kid all the way.

 

“Hold on to your hat, m’lady. You’re ‘bout to get educated for real!” When she opened the laptop and the file, which may or may have not been on his opening screen labeled “ _the best movie adaption of a musical of all times_ ”. Grace mumbled something about Lord’s mercy, but Amy was having none of that. They were about to bond over her favorite musical and Grace was about to become a geek. _Best day ever_.

 

Amy even forgot that there was supposed to be tension between them when she leaned against Grace’s shoulder, to get comfortable glued to her side.

 

\---

 

 

“Why are they wearing masks? ARE THOSE LIANAS? What the fuck?”

 

“Voulez-Vous is,” Amy couldn’t help but pause the movie for a brief second and turn to Grace: “ _iconic_!”

 

Grace rolled her eyes so hard that only the white part was showing. That was scary. She huffed and laid back again, clearly damning the movie, Amy, and maybe even herself. It was okay. Much better than how it had been with Amy’s best friends – who’s taste in everything was god awful.

 

They had drunk the not-so-much-as-halfway-full bottle of vodka and coke. Grace had cried something about gross backwash when Amy drank the bottoms. Maybe they were getting a little tipsy. It was hard to tell, when they were just laying on a bed and watching a movie. Old rock still playing from the speaker was kind of distracting, but Grace had said that she didn’t mind it. So, whatever, they had let it play.

 

The window was open, which was a necessary thing since, according to Grace, the room stank worse than the gym lockers – not from sweat, but excessive amount of parfume. She was getting to comfortable friendly-insult zone pretty fucking quickly. Amy kinda liked it. Anyway, they were already under the blankets because the room was now freezing cold. Grace had made witty comments about her princess sheets – only to confess her undying love for Barbie movies. Or well, Grace had said that she liked them, but those were definitely the same thing.

 

“What are they even saying? That vo-,”

 

“Kid are still awa- Oooooh, you HAVE A GUES-.” Amy was already cutting off Ezra, who had stormed into the room. “Shut the fuck up okay?”

 

She jumped off from the bed -and almost knocked the laptop to the floor in the process. Door was fast closed behind Ezra, who Amy just dragged into the room. Safer here than outside running his mouth to Dad about Grace still being there. Amy rushed her brother to sit on the bed – which he kind of did, but fell straight onto his back, eyes blown. Oh fucking hell, he was high. Nothing unusual about that, but Ezra seemed to be on stronger stuff than normal.

 

Ezra opened his mouth to yawn, though he cut it off halfway. How did one even cut a yawn halfway? How high did one need to be to master that? Right now, Amy didn’t have time to test that out. Ezra lifted his head a bit, let it fall back down in an awkward angle. Now he seemed to notice Grace, looking her upside down.

 

“Are you watching Mamma Mia!?” He asked in a voice that sounded way too excited, and childish too, to be honest. He rolled from his back to his stomach and would have fallen from the bed if Amy wouldn’t have been there to push him from the edge.

 

Amy wasn’t sure was it a surprise or not that Grace didn’t show any signs of shock or irritation. She just nodded to Ezra and told him to join her. What was with her honestly? Good thing that she was chill though, because Amy was definitely freaking out. Ezra would so go to tell dad the second he left the room. Not on purpose, obviously. He just tended to run his mouth about absolutely everything without even noticing it.

 

They needed a new plan. _Fast_. Would locking him into Amy’s bathroom be too much? Yeah, that definitely would. Also, then Amy couldn’t get rid of him. Fuck. Why didn’t she have a lock on her door? WHY? Amy knew why. Dad had freak out about the incidence with Ezra’s crack and took the thing off of the door with his own two hands. Not that anyone busted in – except Ezra. And well Ira. And sometimes Mum. Okay, that point fell flat. Anyhow, Ezra was the issue now.

 

Or maybe he wasn’t. Ezra was sitting next to Grace and explaining something in a low, husky voice. Grace didn’t look to bothered. Actually, she looked kind of entertained. _What the fuck_.

 

Amy choose to ignore the weirdness of this situation. After few dramatic huffs and eyerolls, she just sat down on the other side of Ezra. He smelled like weed, no surprise there, but at least it wasn’t all that horrible and gross smell. It could’ve been worse.

 

They had been watching the movie for a while when Amy felt something sharp stadding her belly. She hissed and mumbled a curse or two before turning to Ezra. Christ his fingers were hard and horrible.

 

“There’s a girl in your bed. Nice one sis.” It was Amy’s guess that Ezra tried to whisper and failed miserably. Grace giggled a little. Adorable.

 

“Okay dude, this is not what you think this is. I swear,” Grace assured and laughed a little. Ezra turned from Amy to her. He was quiet for like three seconds before shifting back to Amy. His eyes were shot open, confused. “Is she not a lesbian?”

_Oh Jesus_. How high was he actually? Grace told Ezra that she most certainly wasn’t going to be interested in anything with _him_ , even if she was straight. Ezra did that turning show again. As if he was a confused toddler.

 

“Is she insulting me?” Ezra asked. Okay, that was just plain ridiculous.

 

“No. You’re just being weird and high.” Grace nodded approvingly for what Amy said. She was probably trying to remember all the things Amy had ever said about Ezra. There was a lot complaining in it.

 

Amy tapped Ezra’s shoulders, harshly. The high thing was staring at Grace, which was uncomfortable for them all. For a brief second Amy considered keeping her mouth shut, but then again, she couldn’t keep stuff from her brothers. “Ez, this is Grace. She’s the girl I was having a thing with before the Hanna-incidence.”

 

Ezra didn’t say anything for a second, but then he exclaimed: “Oooh, she’s the cute Dad wanted to marry you off to because she seemed like a great girl?”

 

“The what now?” It was Grace’s turn to ask. Now she was smirking. Great. Not embarrassing at all.

 

“No, umh yeah well. You know, yes.” Amy bit her lip. Real smooth. Real fucking smooth.

 

There the silence was again. Ezra looked like he was thinking. Which meant that his mouth was hanging open, his eyes were big as plates, and he breathed weirdly. Sometimes Amy was worried that there was something wrong with him. According to Dad it was just the weed, and sometimes when he was in a bad mood, Dad said that Ezra was just thick in his head. Anyways.

 

“Does she smoke weed?”

 

  _Here we go again with the non-working whispering_. Grace didn’t seem to mind though. She just laughed and said that she did, and would be happy to smoke some. She even joked that Amy hadn’t been very hospitable and hadn’t given her any. According to Ezra, it was because Amy was a rude kid. Fuck them.

 

Ezra gave Grace a joint after lighting it. She coughed a little after the first drag, saying something about quality stuff in-between. No one said anything for a minute, and Amy was hoping to get back on watching the film. But then Ezra opened his mouth again: “So just to be clear, you’re not getting married yeah?”

 

“ _NO!_ ”

 

Goddamn pothead.

 

 

 

It had taken ages to get Ezra off the room. Amy had to walk him to the sofa (which was the hard part) and then gently push him to lie down. He had fell asleep in seconds, which was great. Ezra wouldn’t be telling anyone anything tonight. _Goodgoodgood_.

 

Now she was laying in bed with Grace. The light had been switched off and the room was completely dark. Amy couldn’t see Grace, but she was extremely aware of her presence. Sleeping in the same bed with someone wasn’t a big deal for Amy. Not really. But with Grace it was. They had done way more than just sleeping in this bed, why did it feel like such a huge step now? Amy knew why. It was because of the fight. Of course, it was. Everything was because of that fight.

 

“I’m sorry I was such an arse about the Hanna thing,” Amy said and turned her face against the pillow. She felt her face and ears becoming hotter. Blushing was so embarrassing even if no one could actually see it.

 

Grace was silent for a while but spoke up after taking a deep breath; “I was really hurt after that. I thought you were serious about me.”

 

Amy tried not to get heated up. It was really hard and straight up ridiculous. It was her fault, she had been on the wrong this time. And many times, before that. She just generally sucked at the moment.

 

“I am. I was serious. But I guess, I guess I was just scared. And I know it’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth and I hope you can forgive me. I shouldn’t have played you like that,” Amy said. She tried really hard not to mumble, but she knew that she was doing it. Another great side effect of being embarrassed. Thankfully this didn’t happen often. And right now, her should be ashamed anyway.

 

Amy felt cold hand on her stomach, that moved to her arm in seconds. Grace probably realized she wasn’t touching her arm or other generally neutral part of Amy’s body. Not that Amy minded.

 

“I have forgiven you already. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t.” Good point.

 

Amy didn’t really understand Grace. She forgave so easy. Amy had apologised few times and asked her to come hang out, and that was it. If it had been the other way around, Grace wouldn’t had heard the end of it. She was way less forgiving and kind. Grace was just such a good person. Maybe even foolishly good. But Amy really appreciated it. Way more than she could put into words at least.

 

This type of thing was really hard for her. After her ex it just, - it was just very hard. Or actually, it had been hard for her even before Amy had met her ex. She wasn’t a feelings person. Or an apology person. She just generally wasn’t very pleasant, but for some reason Grace still stuck around. Maybe it was the cool girl charm.

 

“Do you-,” Amy had to swallow air, because the words just didn’t come out; “Do you still wanna be with me. Try something?”

 

The sheets moved and so did Grace’s hand. For a second Amy thought that she was pulling away, but Grace actually tried to get her arm around Amy’s waist. It felt comforting. Grace rubbed Amy’s side with her thumb. She had been quiet for a long time now. Or maybe not. Everything always seemed longer when you were stressing it.

 

“Okay,” Grace said finally, after rightfully torturing Amy for something that felt like a life time; “If you’re okay with us dating, exclusively, then okay. I really like you Ames.”

 

That was fair. That was really fair. And Amy told Grace that. She seemed happy about the answer. Grace was still rubbing a tiny circle on Amy’s skin. It felt really nice, even if Grace’s hand was ridiculously cold. How could someone have such cold hands? It was weird. Amy didn’t voice that thought though. She wasn’t dumb enough for that. She had made a fool of herself already.

 

They laid there in silence after that. They didn’t need to talk. Or at least Amy didn’t feel like they needed to. Hopefully Grace agreed. This was nice. Just being close to Grace again. It had been just few days that they hadn’t been together for. Before that they had been pretty much inseparable for weeks. So, the change had been pretty drastic. But now it was okay, or closer to okay than it had been.

 

Amy wasn’t sure who started moving first, but she found herself cuddled to Grace. Or tangled to. They were kind of hugging each other, both leaning in. It wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world, but Amy didn’t mind. Her face was suddenly really, really close to Grace’s. She wanted to kiss her. Very badly. Was it okay? Was she still allowed to do that? Would Grace freak out if Amy kissed her now? Oh god now she’d need to ask was it okay, what if Grace said no? Oh g-,

 

Amy couldn’t panic more, since Grace had already done her move. Her lips felt hot against Amy’s. She tasted like peppermint and Amy was painfully aware she hadn’t brushed her teeth. Maybe Grace didn’t notice.

 

It was a sweet kiss. Really sweet kiss. Grace’s hand was cupping Amy’s face, softly caressing her face. Amy slid her arm to Grace’s back to hold her close, but not too tight. She could back off if she wanted. Everything was so warm and soft. Amy remembered all the things she had missed about being with Grace now. She felt bubbly. It was a nice feeling, really nice. No one had made her feel this safe for a long time. It was a dangerous feeling, Amy knew that. It could turn very ugly, if she trusted that feeling too much. But right now, she didn’t give a damn. Living in a moment. In this, sweet, sweet moment.

 

 

It was so warm under the cover. Amy was laying on her stomach, drawing invisible painting to Grace’s back. This masterpiece could be a sunset over the sea – or a very long and thin worm. She hadn’t chosen yet. It was nice to do this. Calming. Grace had woken up a while ago. They hadn’t talked at all yet, but Amy knew that from way she wasn’t breathing as slow and steady as before.

 

Grace had many dark, tiny moles on her back. Playing connect the dot with them was nice. Sometime Amy would ask could she draw lines between them with a marker. That would look cool. Amy drew tiny circles down Grace’s spine with her finger. That made he shiver a bit. Amy made her way up her back with soft pokes. Grace giggled. It was a nice sound.

 

They had been laying like that for quite some time. Maybe for an hour. Amy didn’t want to move, and she doubt that Grace wanted either. Being like this felt good. Amy couldn’t help but smile a little. Lazy Sundays were one of her favourite things in the world. Sundays were meant for chilling. All the other days she’d work her arse off. But she’d always end the week like this. Just relaxing and doing nothing. 

 

Grace’s stomach rumbling broke the silence. Amy moved her hand to rub Grace’s belly.

 

“You hungry?” Amy asked, and Grace mumbled something about being too lazy to get up. She rolled to her stomach, pouted a bit and gave Amy the puppy dog eyes.

 

“Could you make me something? Pleeease, I’m so comfy right now,” she said in a cutesy voice that made something twist in Amy’s stomach. It wasn’t butterflies, but not a bad feeling either. Amy couldn’t quite understand the feeling. She nodded and got a happy squeal as an answer. Amy loved the way Grace’s mouth always opened when she smiled _. God, how cute that girl was_.

 

Amy got up and took the cover with her just to tease Grace. The girl in question gave her a helpless look. “It’s so cold Amyyyy!” she whined and tried to grab it. She ended up falling right back to the mattress, not even close to get the cover.

 

“You’re so mean!” Grace whined and crawled closeer to the edge of the bed; “Ames, my darling, sweetie pie, baaabe. Give it baaack.”

 

Amy just put the cover around herself and smiled; “No, I think I’m keeping it.”

 

Grace sat up, legs pressed against her bare chest. She was saying something about how terrible person Amy was, but she did that with a small smile on her face. Maybe, just maybe, she didn’t think that Amy was all that terrible.

 

They stared at each other, waiting for another to give in. Amy wasn’t going to lose this one. If anything, she had patience. And Grace was very pleasant to look at. Dark messy hair and a million moles on her pale skin. Beautiful. She had so much character.

 

The room bathed in sunlight. White sheets looked a bit dirty in the bright light. They needed to be changed. Not yet though. Grace was sitting on the edge of the bed and she was struggling to keep her legs from slipping off it. _Adorable_. Amy stuck her tongue out when Grace fell forwards when her feet lost the battle against the bed edge.

 

“Mean,” Grace whispered after standing up. They were really close to one another. Grace could just pull Amy closer, and get the cover. Except it wasn’t about the cover anymore.

 

“You like it,” Amy reminded, tilted her head back and flashed a smirk. Grace just shook her head a bit. This was one thing Amy liked about her. Grace was such a cutie, who never stepped up to challenge her. No, she just dropped this kind of stuff and went for what she wanted. And right now, it was a kiss.

 

Grace’s hands cupped Amy’s face. They kissed ever so soft, and suddenly Amy’s mind was filled with mushy thoughts. Grace turned her brains into marshmallow with the way she touched her. The cover was sliding down from around Amy. That didn’t really matter. Grace’s hips felt hot under Amy’s touch. When she pulled her closer, hands around her, Grace suddenly leaned back.

 

“So, what about my breakfast lover girl?” she asked and to be honest, Amy was a bit taken a back. She’d probably need to take back the thing about Grace not being a challenger. It didn’t take long for Amy to collect herself though. She took few very slow steps towards Grace, forcing her to walk backwards towards the bed. She couldn’t help but whisper; “Maybe you could be my breakfast?” before pushing Grace gently to the bed.

 

“But I want eggs and oranges. Finding it hard to keep your promises?” Grace asked and smiled at the ceiling as she stretched. Little bastard knew exactly what she was doing. _This isn’t over yet_ , Amy thought but didn’t say that aloud. Instead, she just bowed for Grace, who looked very pleased at herself. She deserved to be left alone for a bit. Before leaving the room, Amy sucked her pride and threw the cover for Grace. Oh, how nice she was being.

 

The staircase was so much colder than her room. It really felt like being outdoors. Had one of her idiot brothers turned the heating off again? Mum would be so mad when she got home tonight. Or so Amy hoped, it was nice to see the boys getting told off. They were ridiculously puppy-like when mum got mad. Even Isaac was, despite the fact that he was usually just babysitting them every time he was around. Or maybe it was because he was in charge. _Whatever_.

 

Someone was in the kitchen. No, it was definitely more than a one person. Great. Please be Isaac, please be Isaac, Amy prayed when she pushed the door open.

 

The prayers were answered. Sort of. All the boys were there. Ira was sitting _on_ the table and smoking with Ezra – and Isaac looked pissed about it. The backdoor was open. No wonder it was so damn cold.

 

“Where was my invite to a family breakfast?” She asked and went to get a hug from Isaac. He was such a good hugger.

 

“I did slip one to you from under your door, but I guess I should of written it to a public restroom somewhere. Maybe you would of noticed it then,” Ira said and coughed smoke when Ezra hit his stomach. _Rude much_.

 

“Maybe you should just write your own number there. Maybe then you’d get some every once in a while.” Amy felt very proud when Ira’s face fell for a second. Ezra laughed openly, and Isaac just ruffled her hair before telling them to calm down. As if.

 

Boys had eaten already, based on the empty plates on the counter. Ira was such a neat freak, he wouldn’t leave the kitchen before washing them. It was very handy actually, Amy never needed to do the dishes, because Ira had always dealt with them. Washing the dishes was one of the grossest things on the list of housework, so Amy was more than glad it was never her duty. She was even happier about the fact that Ira never tried to make business out of dish duty or cleaning all together. Oh, speaking of business…

 

“So, Ezra, about that time when you promised me fifty quid if I covered fo-,”

 

“Nonononoooo, please I will do whatever!” Ezra interrupted her and got all the eyes on him. Ira was already snooping, but everyone ignored him.

 

“Pay me then,” she said and smiled sweetly. Amy well knew that Ezra never had any money.  Hell, he was 21 and still living at home – not to mention that he worked for their parents. Part-time.

 

“I’ll do anything. Honestly, sis please. I will be your house slave again!” Ezra basically yelled. _Jackpot_. Amy took the offer, and she saw how Ezra was already regretting it. He had no chill honestly. It was so easy to make him promise stupid things.

 

Amy sat down to the table, not on it like the two barbarians did, and ordered Ezra to make her breakfast for two. _Eggs and oranges_. And lots of coffee. She really needed coffee. The command didn’t get particularly cheerful answer, but Ezra got up anyway. Poor guy. Ira was still trying to get to know what had happened, but Amy wouldn’t tell him. Nope, she had promised to Ezra. Also, Ira could use it to blackmail her too, if he knew.

 

 It had happened few weeks ago. They had been home alone, Ezra and her. He had been drunk and making tea. And for whatever reason, he had used nana’s old porcelain kettle for that. And Amy hadn’t stopped him. Instead, she had told him just to set up a whole tea party while he was at it. It was a joke, but Ezra never understood when people were joking – even less so when he was drunk. Outcome of that tea party was that most of nan’s old tea set got destroyed. Amy promised to take the blame for it – if she’d get fifty quid and he’d do whatever he wanted for the next two weeks. He had done the slaving and honestly, Amy loved having a servant. Especially since it had been her big brother.

 

 But hell no, Ira could never know about that. He would use it to blackmail her, or he’d accidentally tell Mum. Either way, she’d be screwed. Amy had done her punishment shifts at the gym now – which wasn’t really a punishment since she hanged out there anyway. Mum really had a soft spot for her crocodile tears. Also, she had used quite a while gluing the damn tea cups together with Ezra before Mum and Dad got home.

 

“Didn’t Grace stay over? Your girlfriend is welcome to breakfast too,” Isaac asked and raised his brows at her. She’d been there for a while now.

 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Amy said and very much intentionally looked away from the boys - trying to look casual. It was a bit hard, since they were spread around the kitchen now. Ezra coughed, disapproving and she knew that Isaac would do the same if he wasn’t so decent.

 

“It’s been ages since she left, it’s okay for you to mo-,”

 

“Shut the up Ezra!” It was Ira’s turn to make him shut up. The topic was dropped just like that and Amy was actually really thankful for it. She didn’t want to talk about _it_ , or about _her_. Not now, not ever. Also, the boys could shut up about it for forever too. That would be nice.

 

They sat there in silence for few minutes. Ira light another fag – his third one so far. Mum was so going to kill Isaac for letting Ira smoke in the house. Or well, for letting him smoke at all. Mum really hated smoking. And especially it that her _precious baby boy_ did. Sometimes it felt like Mum thought that fags were equal to heroin, since she could be pretty dramatic about it. She’d probably send him to rehab if there was one for sixteen-year-old boys who had a nicotine addiction.

 

Ezra looked somewhat apologetic when Amy finally got the breakfast in a nice little tray. Good. Fuck him for what he had been about to say. As if he didn’t know what was up. Okay, Amy knew he meant well, but still. He really was talented at being an arsehole.

 

When Amy got to her bedroom, she found Grace still laying on the bed. Only exception was that now she was wearing Amy’s sweatshirt, and looking really cosy in it. It did feel nice to see Grace in her clothes. Maybe Isaac had had a point calling Grace her gi-, well _that_ anyway.  She sat down to the bed with her, careful not to spill the coffee on the bed.

 

“Isaac said that you’re welcome to have breakfast downstairs,” Amy said, looking at Grace carefully.

 

“And you think like that too?”

 

Amy nodded. _Yeah, maybe she did_. It was a little complicated, truth to be told. The second she’d make it in anyway “official” with Grace, Dad would start to plan weddings for them. Okay maybe not weddings, but he’d make a huge deal out of it. And Amy wasn’t sure was she ready for that. She wanted to think she was. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt though. But Ezra was right, it had been ages since _she_ had been part of Amy’s life. Grace had been so nice about it, she really had. Amy wasn’t sure did she deserve it.

 

Grace was chewing on an orange, very careful not to make a mess. She looked like a chipmunk. The thought of that kind of warmed up Amy. Grace was so wonderful. Not because she looked like a chipmunk, obviously. It was just the whole package. Amy thought she had had it good before, but this girl was a whole new level of precious. Which was slightly terrifying. She tried to push those thoughts away. It wasn’t like they were helping anyone’s case here.

 

“Did you know the flowers of an orange tree are white and have a wonderful fragrance. They look a bit like lilies,” Grace said after finishing her slice. There was some juice running down from the corner of her mouth. Grace wiped it off on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Correction – Amy’s sweatshirt. Hopefully it wouldn’t stain.

 

“How do you know that?” Amy wasn’t even sure what lilies looked like. They were like daisies on steroids, right?

 

“Read it from the side of a juice box,” Grace said and shrugged. Cute.

 

Amy tried not to stare at Grace too openly. Usually she had no problem at looking up and down at people with everyone full well knowing she was doing it. But this was different. Amy was feeling very disarmed. She always felt like that with Grace. It was a weird feeling, not necessarily a good one. But at the same time, it was the most casually liberating thing in the world. Amy hadn’t really sorted out her feelings about it.

 

If Amy could, she’d runaway now. Just ditch everything. Leave and not look back. Just get in a bus and go as far as she could. And in a way, she would want Grace to come with her. Just disappear with her. Doing a runner with a beautiful girl who’s smitten for you? Movie stuff. In the reality, it wouldn’t work out. Life wasn’t a movie. Even if the stuff that had went last year felt like one. Maybe Amy was in the lame part of the movie. In that part that happened after the end credits. The lame parts. Danny strongly disagreed with that, but he didn’t know shit. Or he did, just not about relationships. That boy was even more clueless about healthy relationships than she was. That said a lot.

 

All Amy could do right now, was to trust her gut and hope it all would be fine and go smoothly.

**Author's Note:**

> *** this part of the chapter was written AGES ago when I had no clue there would be another Mamma Mia! -musical and whole world had kinda forgotten about it. (Also I love ABBA. I’m gay okay)


End file.
